Calgary

The Encampment Eviction Process

Calgary prohibits encampments in one of three ways, depending on where they are located:

1. If located on Private Property - through the Petty Trespass Act

2. If located on a City street - through the Street-Bylaw

3. If located in a Park - through the Parks Bylaw.

When an encampment is located or reported through 311, a special team of Community Peace Officers, known as the Partner Agency Liaison ("PAL") team conducts a site visit within 10 days. If the encampment is located on private land, the land owner will be notified, and they can decide whether to allow the encampment residents to stay, or whether they wish for the peace officer to issue a notice of violation under the Petty Trespass Act, thus causing its removal. If the encampment is located on public property, the PAL team assesses whether the site is inactive or vacant.

If the site is considered vacant, it is scheduled for removal within 5 days, staff availability and weather conditions pending. If the site is 'active' (i.e., someone is living there), the PAL Team attempts to create a rapport and works with encampment occupant(s) to refer them to appropriate social agencies or channels of support as necessary. However, at this time, the PAL team also informally provides notice regarding the bylaws related to camping on City owned public land. This outreach happens as "as quickly as possible" depending on occupant's circumstances and available City resources.

Following this outreach, and within 10 days, the PAL team issues a written or verbal notice of the breach of the subject bylaw. The breaches from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2023, are mapped below. Encampment residents are generally given 24-72 hours to vacate, though if the resident is involved in outreach and seeking support services, extended time is provided until those services are in place.  Following the vacating period, the location is scheduled for cleanup, which involves removal of any left-behind possessions at the site.

At any point in this process, if a "community safety impact" is determined, (for example if fires are lit within the trees, if there is criminal activity in the camp, or if there is an immediate risk to the life of encampment residents such as floods from the Bow River), the City does not issue a notice, and instead moves to remove the encampments as soon as possible. Those instances are not mapped below.

This information was sourced in part from the City of Calgary's encampment webpage, and from communications with their office of Emergency Management and Community Safety.